01x06 : Rescuers
by Gabrielle Henson
Summary: [6th episode in a series]Faith and Tara meet Leo, a little boy accused by a village to be a demon...
1. Teaser

_Disclaimer : Everyone knows who own Buffy and co ! Obviously, it's not me!_

_ The story is the sixth episode in a series called 'Rocky path' and begins around one year after 'Chosen'_

_( I strongly recommand to read the 5 first episodes to understand that one) _

_You can check the series out on my website  
_

_Please let me know what you think._

_And I'm still looking for beta-readers !_

* * *

The motel room Faith and Tara were sharing that night was not really bigger than those they were used to share lately. A tiny bed, a dresser and a chair were the only furniture and only a small dirty window showed the outside.

But this room that seemed to be so much alike all the others had something more to both girls. Two things more to be precise. On one hand, the room got its own private bathroom which didn't happen that often and that Faith enjoyed and Tara even more than her.

But what was really a plus in that room was the TV. For once, they had TV.

And Faith was decided to make the most of it.

Sat on the side of the bed with her back against that wall, her legs stretched and her arms crossed over her chest, the dark-haired Slayer was laughing heartily as the TV played an episode of 'Friends'. Beside her, Tara was laying in the remaining space on the bed, **balled up** in the blankets, with her back turned to Faith.

A new burst of laughter from the Slayer made her turn around to her.

"Could you lower the volume please? I'd like to sleep" Tara asked with a bored look.

Faith didn't even consider to turn her head to her to answer and didn't move to the TV to do what she was asked.

"Relax Blondie" she said with her eyes glued to the screen. "I'm gonna patrol in a bit. You'll be able to sleep your fifteenth hour of the day soon"

Tara rose on her elbows and rolled her eyes.

"Like I can sleep when you're here"

This time Faith turned to her and laid an annoyed gaze on the blonde witch.

"Listen Blondie, YOU wanted to stick with me. I never asked for something like that. Then you'll have to bear me and my TV"

"I didn't want anything" Tara growled as she completely sat up.

It was Faith's turn to roll her eyes before she turned back to the TV.

"Yeah. Didn't change anything for that matter. As long as you're with me, just try to avoid to bore me"

"You could make an effort" protested Tara. "I'm not asking for something big I think"

"And I'm not asking anything from you" Faith growled. "I leave you the bed so that you can sleep while I get the floor and try to sleep when you finally decide to shup up. So for once we have a working TV in the room and that I can do something I like, I'll do it if you like it or not"

Tara stared at Faith for a few seconds and finally gave in as she curled up in the blankets again.

Faith smiled with satisfaction to see the blonde beat a retreat and her attention came back to the TV. The ending credits pointed the end of the episode just a few seconds later and Faith couldn't help to growl in disagreement.

She was getting ready to go out when a new episode started almost immediately after the previous one. Faith let escape a victory exclamation and jumped back without care on the bed.

"Perfect! Last one before patrolling!"

Tara turned again to her.

"My God! Can you ever act with care?" asked the blonde witch.

Faith considered the question for a second.

"No" she finally replied with a wide smirk.

Tara stared at her again then abruptly threw the blankets aside and got up.

"I can't take it anymore"

The witch gathered her things, laid on the dresser or the chair and started to dress under Faith's bewildered stare.

"What you're doing Blondie?" the Slayer asked.

"I'm leaving"

"You're leaving?"

"Yes" Tara confirmed and started to lace her boots.

Faith watched her doing so without moving, kinda tripped up by that reaction. To tell the truth, she wasn't used to see Tara react at all.

"Yeah, shove off. Leave me alone" she grumbled.

Then her attention came back to the screen in front of her even if Faith could help but cast discreet glances to Tara from time to time.

When the witch was done with her shoes, she got up from the chair and looked around her, seemingly searching things she should take with her. She didn't find anything more than her thin backpack. Tara threw it casually on her shoulder and headed to the door.

"Well, bye. And th-thank you for ever-everything you d-did"

She then put her hand on the doorknob and opened the room's door. But it abruptly closed before Tara half opened it. The witch turned around to see Faith standing beside her, her hand firmly pressed against the door frame.

"Okay, stop this now Blondie. Put your stuff back into place, you're staying here"

Tara frowned with a bored look but didn't move.

"I wanna leave" she said simply.

Faith rolled her eyes and didn't move either.

"You're not going anywhere. Look at you: you'd be a perfect night snack for even newly risen vampires. And I promised Buffy I'd get your ass back alive. So you'll stay here that you want it or not"

Tara stared at Faith for a moment with a resolute look on her face then finally got back to the bed where she sat down with her bag still on her shoulder.

"All right" she said. "I'm staying"

Faith was slightly taken aback by that quick surrender but chose to be delightedwith it.

"Good. And talking about vampires, time for me to kill some of them"

Saying this, Faith grabbed her own boots she slipped quickly on before throwing her jacket on her back and choosing some weapons. When she was ready, she looked at Tara who had not moved in the slightest.

"And you" She told her. "You're coming with me"

"What?" Tara asked with surprise.

"Don't think I'm stupid" Faith replied in a mocking tone. "I wouldn't want you to take off while I'm patrolling"

"I thought it was dangerous" Tara protested.

"We're not on the hellmouth here. You'll just have to stay close to me. And it will be safer than being outside all by yourself"

Seeing that Tara still wasn't moving, Faith grabbed her arm and put her effortlessly to her feet.

"And it's not open to debate"


	2. Act 1

Tara and Faith were walking along the narrow alleys of a small and obviously badly maintained cemetery. Faith was slightly leading the way and was distractedly turning her stake in her right hand as her eyes were trailing over her surroundings. Tara was following closely with her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes either glued to the ground or lost into the distance. She wasn't really listening to Faith telling with much detail one of her past glorious act.

The dark-haired Slayer was casting glances from time to time to the witch as to be sure she was still there. Satisfied, she was turning back again and going on with her tale with fake enthusiasm.

She suddenly stopped and fell silent. Tara – who had not noticed as she was lost in her own thoughts- bumped into her and Faith cast her an annoyed glance.

"Shh" she grumbled as low as she could.

She pricked up her ears then pointed to a direction. She started to walk faster and Tara tried to follow without making any noise. Faith stopped soon again. Just some meters across from them, three vampires were sitting on the grass and were talking animatedly.

"We should go to the Luna" one of them was saying

"It's way too far!" Was complaining another one.

"What about the supermarket?" a third one suggested.

"Supermarket is closed right now, you dumbass!" replied the second one.

"Where will we feed then?" the first one resumed. "The Luna is the easier place"

"But it's far!" whined again the second vampire.

"Got a suggestion for you" Faith suddenly announced.

The three vampires turned to her in the same gesture.

"What about going nowhere?" Faith resumed.

The vampires' gazes went from Faith to Tara for some seconds and their eyes started to shine with longing.

Faith then brought out the stake she was holding behind her back and made it turn between her fingers with an innocent look on her face.

Longing turned to fear and the three vampires stood up.

"I'm pretty sure I can get rid you off your problem" Faith added with a smirk.

"She looks like the Slayer…" the third vampire whispered and turned to his companions. "Do you think she really is the Slayer?"

"No" The first one answered. "Probably just some regular girl hanging out in cemeteries at night with stakes in hand. Nothing to worry about"

His interlocutor sighed with relief.

"Good. For a second, I thought she really was a Slayer"

His two companions exchanged a shocked look.

"Of course she really is the Slayer, you dumbass!" One of them shouted.

And he punctuated his sentence by violently throwing his naïve friend toward the aforementioned Slayer. Surprised, he stumbled directly onto the stake Faith had aimed at him. The two other ones took advantage of that diversion to run away as fast as they could.

"C'mon Blondie!" Faith exclaimed in a firm tone.

She was about to follow them but turned before to Tara who wasn't moving and was dumbfoundedly looking at her.

"W-What?"

"We're pursuing them, Blondie. We're running. You know, kinda like walking, just faster. Won't do bad, you can use some physical exercises "

Saying this, Faith grabbed Tara's wrist without asking her permission and went after the fugitives. Tara nearly stumbled due to the Slayer's violent pull but Faith didn't care.

But despite all Tara's efforts to catch with the Slayer's pace, she was a burden to Faith and the vampires were farther with each stride.

Faith suddenly stopped, growling with disapproval and this time Tara really stumbled as she bumped into the Slayer. Faith didn't even look at her as she was aiming her crossbow.

"Fuck!" She grumbled. "I wanted some hand to hand"

A first bolt flew and chopped off the farther vampire who turned to dust under his companion's eyes. He stopped short in his tracks and screamed before turning around to see what had just happened. Faith flashed him a smile he could easily have read as 'sorry' and a second bolt followed the first one. The vampire rolled his eyes before disappearing in dust in his turn.

Faith dropped her arm back and turned to Tara who was getting to her feet and was trying to get her clothes rid off the cemetery's dirt.

"I hate when they're dumb like that" Faith told, as the blonde might care about this. "I don't have any fun"

Faith hung the crossbow back to her belt and looked around her like some predator. A piercing cry then echoed in the night and Faith's head turned abruptly to her left.

"Help! Help!" Screamed a man's voice coming from like some dozen meters.

"Maybe some fun for you" Tara commented.

"Yeah" Faith growled.

As previously, she grabbed Tara's wrist and dragged her toward the direction where the screams came from. Tara followed more easily than previously and was on the watch for any movement from the Slayer. When Faith finally stopped, the witch wasn't surprised this time and she managed to keep her balance. Faith released her when she saw a man crawling on the ground as fast as he could under the threat of what looked like a blonde woman. But even with her back turned to her, Faith knew she was a vampire. Faith immediately went forward and got the vampire away from her prey with a good blow. The demon snarled with displeasure and turned away from the man to care about the Slayer. Faith couldn't help a slight satisfied smirk as all her Slayer's senses awakened to face this new opponent. They exchanged some blows as the man – who was still sitting on the ground – looked at them with a dumbfounded look on his face and as Tara never moved from the place Faith had left her some seconds before. The Slayer let the exchange last a little longer than necessary before finally staking her. The blonde vampire disappeared in dust and Faith cleaned her hands before turning to the man. Faith got closer and looked at him: he was about his mid-forty, average size and his hair was starting to go grayish.

Faith held her hand to him to get him to his feet and he grabbed it willingly. When he was up, he cleaned his clothes in his turn before laying a questioning look on the Slayer.

"Thank you" He said hesitantly. "Whoever you are. And whatever might have been this…thing"

"Vampire" Faith casually said. "You should avoid cemeteries at night"

"Well, I had to walk along that one to get home when this…woman came to me" he explained.

"Then you shouldn't follow women in cemeteries at night" Faith resumed in the same tone.

"Hum…I guess." The man replied, slightly embarrassed. Then he resumed in a firmer tone: "But how? Who are you? You look…" He stared at Faith from head to toes. "…quite young"

Faith nonchalantly shrugged.

"I'm Faith, a vampire Slayer. Vampires, demons. That's my stuff"

The man arched a skeptical eyebrow then stared at her with renewed interest.

"Demons? All kind of demons?"

"All kind. All of them." Faith distractedly answered as she turned around to look for Tara. She was satisfied to see her coming closer to them and turned again to her interlocutor. "From the biggest to the smallest ones. From the ugliest to the ones looking human"

"All kind of demons?" The man repeated in an interested tone.

Faith shrugged with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm telling you every of them. Why that?"

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment before he finally said, just as Tara caught up with them:

"The village has its own demon problem"

* * *

"A demon problem?" Faith repeated.

The man nodded more forcefully than previously.

"Yeah" He said. "A demon. We've got a demon at the village"

"And we don't know how to deal with him"

"There's only one way to deal with demons" Faith answered coldly. "If they don't kill you today, it's to kill you tomorrow"

The man calmly nodded.

"We're all scared. We don't know what to do. Do you think you could help us out?"

Faith nodded without even thinking about it.

"It's my job to take care of demons wherever I go"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you very much" The man warmly replied. "When do you think…"

Faith nonchalantly shrugged.

"Whenever you want"

"Good, good" The other answered and he seemed to think about it. "Could you please come by tomorrow? At my place? It's across Main Street. Over there"

He turned around and pointed vaguely a direction with his arm.

"I'm gonna walk you home." Faith interrupted as the man was about to explain more precisely. "That way, you'll be sure to get home safely and I'd know how to come by tomorrow"

"You don't need to do that" The man protested. "It's late and you probably have to go home. By the way, where do you live?"

Faith shrugged again and smirked.

"At the 'Insider' motel. And it's not like the town was big"

"At the 'insider'?" the man repeated. "It's not…Well, it's not the bettest place"

"It's not that bad. And it's cheap." Faith replied. "Let's go"

He thoughtfully nodded and started to walk with Faith and Tara on his heels.

"Come around 12 tomorrow morning" He suggested a few minutes later as the two young women left him in front of his door.

Faith nodded and the girls disappeared in the night.

* * *

The day after, they were at 12 o'clock in front of the house where they had left the man the night before. He came to open the door after Faith had knocked and smiled warmly when he saw them on the doorway.

"Please come in, ladies"

He stepped back to let them in and the girls entered a modest house. He led them to the living room where a dark-haired, shorthaired woman welcomed them with a warm smile.

"Good morning ladies" she greeted with obvious respect in her voice. "I'm Martha, Peter's wife"

Peter entered the room in his turn and came to meet his wife. He put his arm around her shoulders then pointed to Faith.

"This is Faith, the young woman I told you about. She's the one who saved me yesterday night"

"Thank you very much miss" Martha simply said and slightly bent respectfully her head toward the Slayer.

"And this is…"

He pointed to Tara and stopped his sentence short as he gave Faith a questioning look. It took the Slayer a second to understand what was going on.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she realized. "She's Tara. She…" Faith wavered. "She's with me" She finally said.

"We've cooked lunch" Martha resumed. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Faith was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Oh. You shouldn't have. Really. I…"

"It's my pleasure" Martha interrupted. "You saved Peter's life and you agreed to help us. It's not much to invite you for lunch"

Faith turned her head to the table and noticed then several smoking courses and the tableset for four people.

"Please take place" Peter invited them as he pointed to the table.

Faith's first wavering disappeared when she felt her stomach growled with anticipation as she saw the dishes on the table. Her feet dragged her despite herself to a chair where she fell with some caution. Tara sat beside her and the couple took place face to both young women.

The couple mainly animated lunch. The husband told for what Faith guessed was the umpteenth time the tale of his rescue and each of them asked Faith with much interest about her activities. The Slayer answered each time briefly but with enthusiasm, happy to notice how warm her hosts were with her. Tara didn't open her mouth, except to swallow small mouthfuls of the really good dishes served. To the glances cast by their hosts Faith knew they wondered if the blonde with was mute had any kind of impairment. She didn't tell them and they didn't ask.

When the dessert was finally swallowed, the couple invited both girls around the coffee table where coffee was served with cookies. Faith did honor to them when Tara politely declined. When the cups were finally empty and all the cookies gone, Faith slightly pushed her plate aside and leant in the sofa.

"So, that demon problem?" the dark-haired Slayer asked. "What is it?"

Husband and wife exchanged a quick glance before the man spoke.

"I'm gonna lead you to him" he suggested. "It's really close"

Faith immediately got up and Tara did the same after a brief time of wavering.

"Let's go" the Slayer said.

Peter and Martha got up as well and went to the hall. They took their coats there and exited the house, followed by the girls.

* * *

The walk was indeed brief as Peter had announced. The group walked down the street all the way to a small house alike the others and whose shutters were still half-closed. Peter knocked and a man came to open the door. Faith saw him crane his neck to see who was with Peter and his wife and Faith thought she could see a brief glimmer of disappointment in his eyes. He nevertheless said nothing and opened the door wider to let them in. They followed the man who had opened the door to the living room. A group of other people was waiting for them. They all got up when they came in. Beside the man who had opened the door, three other men and two women were there. The younger was probably around twenty years old when the oldest was in his mid sixty. They all seemed to be modest people and weren't used to receive strangers. They all stared at them with such intensity that Faith couldn't help but feel uneasy to be the object of such a scrutiny.

"This is Faith" Peter simply said, pointing to her.

Faith could read such expectation, such hope in the men's and women's gaze that she almost embarrassed. She slightly waved her hand to them but didn't know what to tell or do. Peter came forward in the room and pointed to her again as he turned to the group:

"Faith knows all kind of demons and knows how to deal with them. She's an expert."

Faith discreetly nodded and toppled over from one foot to the other, praying God or whoever could hear her that this meeting ceased quickly or that it came to the fact.

Peter was the one to hear her silent prayer 'cause he turned again to her after gesturing to one of the man in the room. That one came slightly forward and looked almost shyly at Faith despite his tall size.

"We have to tell you that this demon, well, he doesn't look like a demon. He looks like he's harmless at first sight. But he's…weird. There're always weird things happening around him. Don't trust how he looks"

Faith frowned, intrigued by her interlocutor's words.

"And where can I find it?" She finally asked after a silence.

The man turned round to a corner of the room where was a door with a window glass. In the doorway stood a new comer: a woman in her mid forty, with brown hair tied back in a strict French pleat. She was also looking at Faith and she firmly held in her right hand a little blonde-haired boy who wasn't probably ten yet.

Faith opened her mouth to say something but the man who was talking before was quicker:

"Here he comes"


	3. Act 2

**  
**

"Here he comes" the man repeated, pointing to the newcomers.

Faith stood still for a second and stared at the woman and the little boy before turning again to the man:

"What?" she simply said.

She was about to say something else but was interrupted by the woman.

"We think that Leo's a demon" she asserted as she came closer with the child.

Faith's gaze followed the woman's one and fell onto the little boy near her. He was blonde, about ten years old, maybe less than that. Rather little for his age. His hair was a little bit too long and tousled and a rebel lock fell in the middle of his forehead. For a moment, he stared shyly at Faith until the woman noticed and pulled severely at his arm with a warning look. The boy looked between her and Faith before looking down to his shoes.

"Wh…" Faith began.

"Don't trust his childish features" the man interrupted. "Leo is not an ordinary child. He has demon in him"

Faith could hear an approving whisper cursing through the assembly. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned with a dumbfounded look as she considered the child.

"I don't think that…"

"You cannot know right now" interrupted another man. "We do know what's going on. That kid's a demon. Can you help or not?"

Faith was about to vivaciously answer the abrupt question when she met Peter's and his wife's imploring gazes. The Slayer wavered for a second. The second after, she turned sharply her head to the side when a new voice could be heard:

"He-he's n-not a-a de-demon"

Faith stared at Tara who had just stepped forward and horribly stuttered those few words as she was seeing her for the first time. The blonde stood beside her and crossed her arms over her chest and plastered a face Faith guessed she wanted resolute. Silence fell over the assembly before an insistent whisper came back.

"Who's that?" Faith could hear as the villagers stared at Tara with obvious hostility.

Faith looked at the group, the little boy and then at the blonde with before turning to the villagers again:

"How do you think he's a demon?"

At first, she didn't get any answer. The villagers went on staring at the Slayer but the glimmer of hope she had seen in their eyes previously was gone and had been replaced by one of disappointment. Faith cast a glance to the little boy, responsible for such troubles. The boy didn't inspire her anything in particular. She then turned to Martha and Peter and searched for an explanation in their gazes. Peter looked away to his friends and clenched his teeth. Martha looked at him hesitantly for a second before meeting Faith's gaze.

"There're…There're all those weird things happening around him. He…" Martha explained and searched for her words. "He's not normal" she concluded after a silence.

An approving whisper could be heard again and several voices repeated, "He's not normal" with more zeal and many nodded to that summary explanation.

"Maybe you could…" Martha began.

But Faith was surprised when Tara interrupted her.

"He's not a demon!" the blonde protested.

"Don't trust his look" Martha answered sweetly and firmly at the same time. "He…"

"He's not a demon!" Tara repeated.

"Then, prove it to us!" ordered one of the men as he raised a finger to her.

Tara looked intimidated for a second and turned to Faith. The Slayer looked like she was intensively thinking about what to do and said nothing at first.

"Prove it!" the man vociferated again.

"W…" Tara began and tried to master her trembling voice.

But Faith's sharp voice cut her.

"Shut up Tara"

Tara's mouth opened then closed and she made no sound. The blonde witch frowned and she curled up her arms around her shoulders in a protective gesture. Faith looked at her doing so before turning to Martha again.

"What do you want us to do?" Faith asked, more abruptly than she had intended.

Martha seemed to hesitate and turned to the boy Faith was staring at too.

"Stay here for a few days" she suggested. "You'll be better than at the motel and you'll be able to get what we're talking about and to decide what to do about it"

A new whisper of approval went through the assembly. Faith's gaze roamed over the room around her, over the villagers in front of her, over the little boy and finally over Tara who was staring stubbornly at her feet.

"It's not too big…" Martha resumed. "But…"

"Okay" Faith interrupted. "I'm gonna go to the motel to get our stuff. I'll be back in half an hour"

She then nodded and she saw Martha sending her a grateful smile. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Tara looking at her with an angry look on her face. She shrugged and nodded again.

"I'll be back in a bit"

* * *

When Faith came back less than half an hour later, most of the villagers were gone. Martha and Peter were the only ones still there. Tara now sat on the sofa and seemed to look at Leo playing with some pieces of paper. But Faith knew to her blank look that the blonde witch was elsewhere.

Martha and Peter sat at the living room table and they got up when she came in and Peter came to help her with one of the bags she carried. She let him do even it wasn't a burden to her.

The couple left immediately and Faith found herself alone with Tara and the child. She looked around her and when her eyes fell onto Leo, she deeply sighed. He really wasn't the demon she expected.

Faith sat nonchalantly against the table and stared at the boy who wasn't paying any attention to her. He didn't make her Slayer senses tingle whereas they were usually so receptive to any kind of demons. For a moment, accepting this task felt ridiculous.

Faith deeply sighed again. She had to look on the bright side : they would have a house for them alone for a few days. Almost alone. Alone with that demoniac child. Faith thought that she couldn't have everything. She would keep an eye on the kid. But for now, she had something else to worry about.

"Have you visited Blondie?" she asked.

Tara slightly jumped and laid her eyes on Faith. She nodded.

"The-there's a room over there" she said, gesturing toward the corridor. "And there's Leo's room there" She gestured again behind her.

"Just one bedroom?" Faith grumbled.

Tara shyly nodded.

"It's rather small" she stated.

"Yeah" was Faith's only comment.

She got away from the table and started to have a look round the house. Tara hadn't lied or made too much. It was small. Beside the living room and the short corridor leading to it from the entrance door, there were just a kitchen and a small bathroom between two small bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was Leo. It was deprived from any kind of decoration. Only a bed and a dresser made up the room's furniture. The walls were dirty white and an alone opaque windowpane let the outside light in. Faith didn't waver at the door: there was nothing to see.

The other bedroom was barely larger and decorated but it was far brighter and cleaner. Faith cast a glance to the room and found not much furniture: a bed, a dresser and two rows of shelves where some magazines were laid on. The Slayer came back to the living room and went to the French window and opened it. The backyard there was small and the grass obviously hadn't been mowed in a long time. Faith closed the window. Satisfied to have checked out the whose house, she came back to the living room door and took the bags she had brought back from the motel. Then she went to the bedroom, closely followed by Tara. There, she casually threw the bag on the mattress.

"Wh-what are y-you gonna do?" the blonde witch asked.

Faith turned round in surprise.

"How's that what I'm gonna do?"

"About Leo" Tara specified. "You're not gonna…"

"I'm gonna investigate, find out what kind of demon he is"

"He's not a demon" Tara asserted.

Faith shrugged to show she didn't know.

"Maybe not" she admitted. "But maybe he is. I'll see"

"He's not a demon" Tara repeated.

"We don't know" Faith grumbled and turned to her. "You don't know, I don't know. Those people don't think that kid's a demon without good reasons"

"People always think they have good reasons" Tara protested. "But they…"

"Listen Blondie" Faith impatiently interrupted. "You saw Martha and Peter like me. Not the kind of guys to tell that kid's a demon without a reason?"

Tara opened her mouth to say something but Faith didn't let her enough time.

"So I'm gonna try to know what is it about exactly. And I'm gonna act after. Is that okay with you?"

Faith crossed her arms and stood in front of the blonde who mimicked her position despite her will.

"He's not a demon" she repeated with a stubborn look on her face.

Faith dropped her arms to her side and rolled her eyes.

"My God! What's your problem? You can't tell a word for weeks and now it seems you just can't shut up ! »

"He's not a demon" Tara repeated again.

"What do you know about that?" Faith asked impatiently. "And who's the demon expert here?"

"Don't tell me you were thinking about yourself here?" Tara replied in a sharp tone Faith had never heard before.

The Slayer was slightly taken aback by the outburst and she vaguely gestured something, which could mean "whatever".

"Y'know what Blondie?" she asked in a bitter and sarcastic tone. "I liked you better when you just shut up"

Tara didn't answer at first and seemed to tighten her arms' grip around her chest in a protective gesture. She clenched her jaw and Faith saw her swallow hard before she finally said:

"People usually do"

Faith stood still for a second and stared at Tara in silence. Finding nothing to answer, she eventually shrugged and came back to the living room with Tara on her heels.

Leo slept on the sofa. Faith wavered about what to do. She looked between the sofa and the door several times before gesturing to Tara to follow her to the entrance door.

"We're gonna get back to Peter's and Martha's place to know more about this." She said, already at the door.

But Tara didn't follow. Faith noticed, she laid a questioning look on the blonde.

"You coming Blondie?"

Tara simply shook her head.

"No"

Faith frowned as she had badly heard.

"What no?"

"I'm staying here with Leo" explained the blonde.

Faith looked at the child on the sofa and seemed to consider the option before shaking her head.

"No. You're coming. We don't know what might…"

"No" Tara repeated. "I'm staying here"

Then, she resolutely sat on the sofa and looked at Faith with the most resolute face she was able to plaster. The Slayer rolled her eyes, and shrugged then gave in.

"Right. Do what you want"

Then Faith existed the house and the door slammed loudly behind her.

* * *

When the Slayer came back almost two hours later, she hadn't learnt much about the child and his demonic side. None of the things she had gotten from the villagers could help her to know what kind of demon Leo was. For a moment, she almost missed Giles, Wood and the library. Almost. And well, Wood probably not only for the library.

So, she had learnt that the boy seemed to know things he wasn't supposed to know. He never read any book but knew more than a lot of people about too much stuff. And there were all those incidents around him. His parents' mysterious death. That fire in her aunt's former house where he lived with her and which had nearly killed the poor woman. No one had ever known how the fire had started. And the kid had made it through without any damage. And there was the way he could remain without talking or moving for hours. Or the way he seemed to talk to unseen people or creatures.

Faith had listened to all those tales with less and less interest. Her stuff was killing demons. Killing demons threatening humans. Not investigate about the whys and hows a kid would be a demon.

Tara was probably right. He probably wasn't one. All this situation was probably only gossiping and hokum. !how had she gotten herself in such a situation? It was beyond her.

And had she promised again to Martha and Peter to take care of their problem ? It was even MORE beyond her. Well, maybe it had something to do with their imploring gazes and the basket full of cookies and candies that Martha had gave her with much thanks. Faith had found herself dumb with the basket in her hand and when she was ready to tell she had nothing to do with their demon, she had finally promised to do her best to help them.

She was still cursing her inability to say no to a basket full of cookies when she crossed the house doorway.

A vaguely familiar scent hit her nose and Faith frowned, wondering what it was. She got to the living room and found Leo sat on the sofa and eating something. Something disappeared in his mouth and Faith's eyes followed the kid's hand to the coffee table.

A plate was there and Faith identified pancakes in it.

"What's this?" She asked nevertheless as Leo took another one.

The boy turned to her and looked at her in surprise.

"Pancakes" He answered in an obvious tone as he put a new one in his mouth.

"I see that" Faith replied abruptly. "How? Someone came?"

Leo shook his head.

"Tara cooked them"

"Tara?" Faith repeated in a clearly dumbfounded tone.

Leo nodded and Faith shrugged.

"Tara wouldn't even find the kitchen"

The blonde chose that precise moment to come in with a frying pan in hand.

"And anoth…"

The end of her sentence died in her throat when she saw the Slayer.

"Faith"

Tara stood just before the door leading to the kitchen, not knowing what to do with her pan anymore. Finally she held it to the Slayer.

"I've cooked some pancakes. Do-do you want some?"

Faith came forward and put the basket on the coffee table. Then she looked curiously at the aforementioned pancakes, as she wanted to be sure they were real.

"You cooked pancakes?" she repeated almost defiantly.

"Do you want some?" Tara asked again and nodded.

"I've brought back cookies" she announced.

"They're still hot" Tara replied and pointed to the pancakes

Faith looked again at the plates on the table, at the syrup, the butter then at the frying pan in Tara's hand. She smelt a good scent she hadn't smell in a long time.

"Okay" she simply said.

Then she sat on the sofa, grabbed a plate on the table and started to generously cover in syrup the hot pancake Tara had put in front of her.

* * *

It was night. Faith was alone in the kitchen and swept quickly and without much care some plates Tara had cleaned before. Her task came to an end fast and she put the last still wet plate in a closet before dumping her dishcloth on the back of a chair.

She switched the light off, opened the door and went to the living room. It was almost dark, only lighten by the moon. Faith looked around her and saw no one there. She then looked at the corridor leading to the rooms. As she caught glimpse of light coming from there, she headed toward the bedrooms. The main bedroom was lit. When she passed by Leo's room, she stopped in front the open door and cast glance in the room. She was surprised to find Tara there. The witch sat on the edge of the bed where the little boy was sleeping.

"Hey, you're here" she simply said.

Tara nodded to her and Faith remained still in the dorrway for a moment. Then she came closer to the bed silently and pointed to the boy with her chin:

"So, the kid's sleeping uh?"

Tara nodded again.

"He is"

She turned to the kid she looked at for some seconds before turning round to Faith again.

"He-he's not a demon"

For the first time, she was calmly saying this, without any anger, and in an almost pleading voice. Faith would probably had rolled her eyes again or casually shrugged but something in Tara's voice refrained her from doing so. She came even closer and looked at the child in her turn.

"H-he's j-just a kid" Tara resumed."Not a demon"

Faith considered alternately Leo and Tara in silence for a while.

"Why are you so sure?" she eventually asked.

"I mean" she added and gestured vaguely to the kid. "You saw Peter and Martha like me. Why would they make up that thing? It's a nonsense!"

Tara shrugged and let her gaze glued to Leo.

"He's different. They're scared."

"Different?" Faith repeated and frowned.

"He's not a demon" the witch simply said. "I can feel that"

Faith nodded and remained there for several minutes looking at Tara who was looking at Leo.

"Hum…Blondie, I'm gonna get my stuff and sleep on the sofa" she eventually announced.

"Y-you can have the room" Tara said and turned to her with a wince she probably had intended to be a smile.

Faith casually shrugged.

"I'll be okay. Sofa's big. Far better than usual"

She then turned around and started to leave the room. She stopped in the doorway and turned again to Tara.

"You should sleep too Blondie. It's late"

Tara nodded and tried a new smile.

"I will. Good night Faith"


	4. Act 3

Daylight flowing through the curtains and a loud 'bang' onto the door awaked Faith. The Slayer blinked once or twice and slightly stood on the sofa, trying to get out her night torpor. A new 'bang' made her throwing the blankets aside and getting up. She looked at the window and noticed it was already late. She hadn't slept that good in a long time and stretched all her length while heading to the door. When she was about to lay her hand on the doorknob, she looked at her clothes: a tank top and a pair of boxers. But she just shrugged and opened the door.

She found three men and a woman behind it. She vaguely recognized them from the day before. Peter was among them.

Faith leant against the doorframe and stared at the newcomers with a questioning look.

"Yeah?" she simply said, already annoyed by the intrusion.

"Good morning miss" Peter said as he came slightly forward. "We…We're coming to get some news…"

"Well, it's almost noon" another man said, faking a desolate look.

"And you said it would be quick" a third man added.

Faith arched a skeptical and annoyed eyebrow.

"I arrived yesterday" she said in a casual tone. "We saw each other less than twenty-four hours ago"

"I don't know more" she added a second later.

Villagers looked at each other with a confused and surprised look.

"Well…you said you were an expert" resumed the second man. "We thought you'd handle that quickly…"

"Handle?" Faith repeated as she stood from the doorframe.

"You said you knew how to deal with demons. We thought that…"

"I'm not even sure that kid's a demon yet" Faith interrupted.

Her interlocutors looked hurt for a second.

"He's a demon" Peter said. "We told you and explained… I thought we agreed…"

"I like making my own advice" Faith cut him short. "I'll do something when I know what I'm dealing with. I'll let know"

She was about to close the door but Peter insisted.

"Faith please. We really need you"

Faith rolled her eyes and turned again to him.

"Demons are my stuff. If he's one, I'll take care of him. If he's not, I'll do nothing"

Faith looked at each villager, almost challenging them to reply. When she noticed with great satisfaction that they remained silent, she simply concluded:

"That's all"

And the door closed.

* * *

"What did they want?"

Faith almost jumped when she heard Tara's voice behind her. She turned round and saw the blonde witch in the living room doorway. She was too coming from bed as told her too wide tee-shirt and tousled hair.

"What did they want?" she repeated.

Faith went to her and passed into the living room without saying a word. She let herself heavily fall on the sofa and grabbed her pack and lit a cigarette. She dragged two puffs before turning to Tara who was placidly looking at her.

"They're in a hurry that I'm finished with our demon" she said.

Tara's face immediately changed and the witch started her favorite sentence of the moment.

"He's not a de…"

"Okay" Faith interrupted. "Got it"

Tara didn't insist at first and started at Faith smoking her cigarette. She was probably waiting for the Slayer to explain her plans. Seeing that nothing came, she resumed:

"What's your plan?"

Faith shrugged.

"Don't know" she casually said. "I have to know"

"He's not a demon!" Tara impatiently exclaimed.

Faith looked up to her but didn't react at first.

"I have to be sure" she eventually said.

"I'm sure" Tara asserted.

Faith couldn't help but snigger.

"And I'm pretty sure it will be enough for those morons"

Tara stepped back and her shoulders slumped at Faith's words. A long silence fell and it would have been hard to know if the girls were thinking about the present matter or if they were elsewhere. The answer came when Faith eventually talked again:

"Can't you do something to know what he is?"

"What?" Tara asked with a questioning look on her face.

"I mean" Faith resumed. "You're a witch. Or at least you were. Don't you have a spell or a trick or something to know what kind of demon he is? Mustn't be too much complicated, what'd you think?"

Tara stared at Faith for a moment and Faith thought she was considering the suggestion. But she finally shook her head.

"No-no. No spell. I-I do-don't need a sp-spell to know he's not a demon »

Faith rolled her eyes with annoyance.

"Okay. You don't need it. But I do. And those guys do as well. Do a spell and the problem is fixed. It's simple as that."

But Tara shook her head again.

"No. No spell"

Faith loudly sighed to show how bored she was and Tara added as she wanted to affirm her choice even more.

"Anyhow, I would need some ingredients. And I won't find them here."

"Yeah. Good for you. What would you need?"

Tara crossed her arms and plastered a stubborn look on her face.

"I-I can't re-remember. I'd need a magic b-book to know"

"You're kidding me?" Faith exclaimed, anger rising in her voice.

But Tara shook her head.

"I don't remember" she simply said.

Faith rolled her eyes again in a dramatic gesture.

"It would be the simplest thing to do" she claimed.

"No" Tara opposed.

"Do as you want" Faith finally gave in. "But you're not helping. It will take more than your belief to help that kid"

She then headed to the French window, opened it and went into the backyard.

* * *

When Leo came to the backyard too some minutes or maybe some hours later, Faith didn't even look at him. She sat with her back against the house wall, her knees up to her chest, her face and body warmed by the sun, a cigarette between her fingers.

Leo didn't pay her attention. He passed her and just cast her a glance before heading to the bottom of the tiny backyard with a soccer ball on his hands.

He gathered some branches and set two of them apart on one side of the backyard and then did the same on the other side.

Then the ball was at his feet and the kid started to come and go between those quick goals, dribbling imaginary opponents, faking powerful shoots, commenting his actions, running endlessly from one of this improvised field's end to the other.

Faith eventually came out her reverie to look at the child. She couldn't help but grin to the boy's endless enthusiasm and to his will to play a soccer match, even alone. She wondered if someone had ever played with him.

"Hey! Kid!"

Leo stopped to run when he heard her voice and turned to her with a questioning look but said nothing.

Faith stood up and slowly came closer.

She stood still near the boy for a moment, feeling suddenly awkward and embarrassed.

"Hum" she said, not really knowing how to put her sentence. "Hum…Can I play with you?"

The kid looked at her for a moment, not understanding what she was saying. Then Faith thought she had seen a glimmer of suspicion in his eyes before he finally widely smiled.

"Oh, yes!" He exclaimed excitedly. "What side do you want?" He added quickly, pointing to each goal.

"Hum…" Faith said, casting a glance to each side as if she was wondering what to do. "You're the youngest, it's your call to choose!"

Leo seriously nodded and seemed to waver for a second before pointing to the side of the field he was.

"That side!"

Then, he put his hands on his hips and waited for Faith to step back to her own side. Finally, he threw the ball to her.

"You're a girl, you can have the ball first!" he said.

Faith grinned as she received the ball then slightly winced.

"Okay, kid!"

* * *

Tara climbed the two steps leading to the house she was sharing with Faith right now and she pushed the door. Her skin had turned pink as she had walked along the cold streets of the village. If she had been able to see herself right now, she'd probably have liked those welcomed colors to her face, so different from the deathly ones she was used to lately.

Faith had let her go without making a fuss and Tara thought she was simply bored to watch after her or that she knew she would come back because of Leo. She had barely asked what she intended to do and Tara had been able to do whatever she wanted for the whole afternoon.

Was it her survival instinct? Or simply an old habit? But she had come back before dark.

The house was silent. Tara considered the empty living room with surprise then anxiety. Then she felt anger rising as she imagined that Faith had taken advantage of her absence to get Leo back to his torturers. Or worse. Much worse.

Tara clenched her fists and teeth and started to frantically look around the house, searching for a clue telling her what the kid or the Slayer had become.

As she was in Leo's room, outbursts made her come back to the living room. She recognized Leo's voice and immediately felt relieved.

The witch went to the window and looked though the glass. She found herself dumbstruck when she discovered the scene outside and stood with her mouth agape in front of the window.

The soccer match was at its best. Faith never ended to dribble Leo who desperately tried to follow the crazy rhythm the Slayer gave. She seemed to really have fun and Tara found out a happy face she thought Faith unable to wear before.

"Hey kid! You'll really end shucking potatoes if you go on loosing!"

The kid didn't look too much bothered by the young woman superiority and winced as much from pleasure than exertion as he was trying to take the ball from her.

Tara couldn't resist herself the pleasure to look at the scene and put her hand on the French window's doorknob. Once, twice, she started to set if off without actually doing it. She stayed there for minutes, looking alternately from Faith to Leo, unable to push the door. She thought that Faith could let Leo win a little bit more often but decided finally against step in their game. She eventually got away from the window and settled on the sofa.

A thin smile came to her face.

When Faith and Leo finally decided it was time to end the game and to come back inside, night had just fallen.

"You've almost worn me down kid" the Slayer said as she pushed the French window and following Leo inside.

The boy had his ball in hand, his hair was tousled, his clothes were sloppy but he looked at Faith with a big smile.

"You won each time!" Leo protested. "You run a lot for a girl!"

Faith couldn't help but smirk.

"You should never underestimate girls!"

Faith closed the door behind her and looked around her in the living room, obviously looking for something.

"Where's Ta…" Leo began.

But the boy fell silent when he noticed the blonde sleeping form on the sofa.

"She's sleeping" Leo commented.

"As usual" Faith said simply.

She looked away from Tara and headed toward the kitchen.

"I'm gonna cook something." She announced. "I'm starving. Aren't you?"

Leo nodded vehemently.

"Neat" Faith said. "Make yourself at home, I'm gonna see what's left"

Leo nodded once again and Faith let him there and disappeared in the kitchen. She opened the cupboards and the fridge and noticed with great satisfaction that there were two big steaks left. She threw them on a frying pan, did the same with frozen potatoes found in the freezer and started to gather place settings.

Potatoes were almost ready when Leo appeared running in the room.

"Faith!"

The Slayer turned sharply to the kid as she heard hint of panic in his voice and gave him a questioning look.

"What?'

"Tara" Leo explained. "Something's wrong. She's crying and yelling in her sleep"

Faith shrugged and got back to the cooker.

"Nightmares" she calmly stated. "It's nothing. It's gonna get better"

Leo remained still, looking at the Slayer. Feeling his gaze on her back, she turned round again to him.

"Gotta get used to this." She said. "I'm not paying attention anymore"

"Ah" was the only reply she got.

And Leo left the kitchen as quickly as he had entered. Faith pricked up her ears and actually heard Tara crying in her sleep just like she was so used to that she didn't even notice anymore. Faith resumed her task, turned the potatoes over, put the steaks in a plate, salted and peppered them. She then took two more plates, forks and knives, checked the potatoes, turned off the stoves and grabbed the pan with one hand and the pile of plates with the other.

"Dinner's ready kid" she announced as she entered the living room.

She looked for him for a second and was surprised to find him sat on the sofa beside Tara.

"Shh" he mimed, gesturing to Tara.

Faith came closer to the coffee table near the sofa and put her burden there. Then she sat in a basket chair near the sofa. She served herself one of the steak and a big part of potatoes while watching Leo out of the corner of her eye. The kid had settled on a tiny part of the sofa near Tara's folded arm and he had taken the witch's hand in his as she was turning and tossing nervously in her sleep.

"You should eat while it's hot" Faith said.

Leo nodded and let go of Tara regretfully. He came to the table and served himself half of the remaining steak and some potatoes.

"You take the whole steak" Faith stated. "Tara won't eat. She never eats anything"

Leo shook his head and came back beside Tara. He settled his plate on his knees, carved his meat carefully and then slipped one of his hands back into Tara's as he grabbed his fork with the other.

Faith took the last part of steak and the dinner was silent.

Leo was the one to eventually talk again, as soon as his last part of meal was swallowed.

"I like you" he suddenly said.

Faith abruptly looked up to him and probably watched him in obvious surprise 'cause he couldn't help but laugh. He just nodded and resumed:

"I like Tara too. She's nice. She read a story yesterday evening. And she stayed with him afterwards"

Faith watched him in surprise. She didn't expect such confidences. Nor the fact that Leo's presence obviously calmed the blonde who seemingly slept peacefully now.

"She read a story?" Faith repeated after a silence. "I didn't see any books in here"

Leo's smile got wider to that comment and transformed in a proud smile.

"I can't have books" he explained. "But I have some anyway. I've put them into a hideout under the bed. Classical but it still works"

Faith sketched a smile and nodded with a knowing look.

"Smart" she commented. "Why can't you have books?" she asked just after.

The boy shrugged.

"Don't know. They say it's dangerous. I don't get why. I find books fun"

Faith arched a skeptical eyebrow to that last comment but didn't say anything. Leo didn't let her time anyway.

"Why don't you like Tara?" he suddenly asked.

Faith looked at him wide-eyed and found herself totally taken aback.

"What?" was the only thing she managed to get out.

"Why don't you like Tara?" He repeated calmly. "She's nice"

"Hum…y'know, sometimes it's complicated,…" she explained without really knowing why. "And it's not that I don't like her"

She seemed to look for her words for a moment.

"We just have nothing in common"

Leo stared at her like she had just told him that Santa Klaus was indeed real and let escape a frank laugh. Faith pouted.

"Why are you laughing, kid?"

"You have at least one thing in common" he announced seriously.

"And what's that?" Faith asked, clearly unconvinced.

"You're both nice"

This time, Faith was the one to laugh.

"You don't know me kid. Not at all." She added then seriously.

Leo nonchalantly shrugged.

"I know what I see"

Faith bitterly snickered and looked away.

"Do you know you're talking too much for a kid your age?"

"I think that's the reason why they don't want me to read" he said.

"Yeah. I see"

Silence fell again, each of them obviously lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Faith got up and gathered the dishes on the table.

"You should got to bed" she said. "I'm gonna do the dishes and go patrolling. You two, just stay inside, I won't be long. Okay kid?"

Leo simply nodded.

"Okay" he replied. "I'm going to bed"


	5. Act 4

**  
**

When Faith came back after the most boring patrol ever, she found Tara awake and cross-legged on the sofa.

"Not sleeping Blondie?" She asked as she put her weapons on the table.

"Apparently I am" Tara replied, rolling her eyes.

Faith abruptly turned to her, surprised to hear her replying and trying to sound funny.

"Yeah. Okay. Stupid question" she admitted.

She came to sit on the other side of the sofa and lit a cigarette.

"Kid's sleeping?"

Tara nodded.

"You've worn him down. He fell asleep even before I finished the reading"

Faith nodded absent-mindedly and dragged a long puff.

"Reading uh?" she simply said.

"Yeah. No one ever reads stories. He's so alone"

"Yeah"

"He's not a demon," Tara said once again, in a firmer tone. "You know that now, right?"

Faith shrugged and didn't answer. When she was done with her cigarette, she crushed it in the ashtray on the coffee table, and then turned to the blonde witch.

"You should go to bed Blondie. I'm gonna claim my sofa"

"You can have the bedroom if you want" Tara suggested

"No" Faith said, shaking her head. "Sofa's perfect for me and for little time I need to sleep"

Tara didn't insist and got up to head toward the corridor. She mouthed a "good night" and disappeared. Faith then slipped her clothes off, got her nightshirt from a corner of the sofa and lied before closing her eyes.

When she opened them again, she suddenly stood on the sofa, totally awake and all senses in alarm. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. A quick look through the window taught her it was still night and she knew it wasn't that long since she had gone to bed. Faith smelt the air around her and what she felt fill her lungs told her what had awaked her in the middle of the night.

"Oh shit!"

She jumped from the sofa and rushed to the corridor. She had been right. A gray smoke was coming from there and attacked the Slayer's eyes.

"Tara! Leo!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

She reached Leo's door first and sharply opened it without thinking. He was still in bed and Faith grabbed violently the child and shook him to wake him. He jumped and sharply stepped back but Faith didn't let him enough time for another reaction.

"The house's burning kid" she explained as quickly as she could. "Go out fast, it's coming from the other bedroom"

"What about Tara?" the boy asked as he hastily got up.

"I'm taking care of this. Get out from here"

He bent under his bed, seemingly looking for something under Faith's horrified gaze. Faith seized him by his collar and got him to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to get out!"

"My books!" Leo protested in a panicked voice.

"Forget them" Faith growled. "Get out from here"

She pulled him out of the room and Leo regretfully obeyed and rushed toward the living room while Faith crossed the distance to the room where Tara was sleeping. She could feel heat coming from there and smoke was denser.

Faith noisily opened the door and stood still for a second when she saw the scene in front of her. Flames were dancing in the room, consuming the right wall and were sometimes rising up to the ceiling.

Tara was lying on the floor on the other side of the room and looked unconscious. Faith crossed quickly the distance between her and the witch and winced to the stifling heat.

Her fingers came immediately to the blonde throat to take her pulse and sighed with relief when she noticed she was breathing.

Faith effortlessly lifted her and rushed to the door that the flames were almost reaching now. A piece of ceiling fell just before her and Faith had to step over it to cross the threshold. She winced to the heat she felt on her calf but the pain disappeared almost immediately.

She had no more problems to get out and found Leo outside waiting for her in front of the house. The kid was obviously worried and was curiously looking at the house.

Faith laid Tara beside him and gently shook her. Tara coughed, spat and her eyes fluttered to finally open.

"You okay Blondie?"

Tara nodded and coughed again.

"Fi-fire…" she whispered.

Faith rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah. Fire. How do you think you got out?"

Tara stared at her and nodded again.

"Are you okay?"

The Slayer nodded too.

"I'm five by five Blondie. No problem"

She then turned to the house. A heavy dark smoke was rising up from the back and flames could be seen advancing fast.

"Was time" Faith commented.

She then looked at Leo whom Tara was carefully checking out to be sure he was okay. Faith was surprised to see her bag and her clothes lying on the floor.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to them and frowning at Leo.

"Your stuff" he calmly answered.

"I clearly remember telling you to get out as quickly as possible" she grumbled.

"I thought you could use them" Leo replied with a mischievous smile.

Faith considered her pair of boxers and had to admit it : she could use this. She grabbed the jeans and slipped it on quickly.

"I'm gonna call firemen" she said as she was slipping her boots on.

But she didn't have to actually do what she intended. Just when she was about to dial the number, she heard the firemen siren ringing out in the distance.

"Seems that the neighbors are keeping tabs on us…" she commented.

* * *

Fire wasn't long to control and the firemen managed to save the front of the house. They checked Tara and Leo out but none of them insisted to do the same with Faith when she made clear it wasn't useful for her.

Dawn was nevertheless almost there as Tara and Leo were settled in the hall of the motel where Tara and Faith had booked a room at their arrival. Leo had claimed a magazine and was doing crosswords puzzles. Tara was slumped in her seat and seemed deeply lost in her thoughts.

Faith for her part was at the reception desk and was flipping through the pages of a phone book with a phone in her.

"Got Peter on the phone" she announced to Tara and Leo a little later.

Tara got out from her reverie and turned to Faith and nodded.

"G-good. You t-told him?" We have to t-tell the villagers"

Faith shrugged.

"We'll tell them when we get there." She said and slumped in a chair in her turn. "Admitting they don't already know" she added, snorting.

"What're you doing kid?" she added, turning to Leo.

"Crosswords" the child replied without looking up from his magazine.

Faith bent forward to look at the pages blackened by the boy. She arched an eyebrow.

"Not bad kid" she said in an appreciative tone. "What do you think Blondie?" she added for Tara.

Tar nodded and looked tenderly at the child.

"He's gifted. Really gifted"

"Yeah"

Faith turned to look at the hall for a second then turned back to Tara.

"Do you know how fire began?"

Tara frowned.

"Why are you asking me this? Do you think Leo is…"

"I don't know. But you know what they'll say. There already was a fire before"

"Do you really think he's…" Tara resumed in a firmer tone, anger shining in her eyes.

"Calm down Blondie" Faith said, rolling her eyes. "I'm just saying…"

"You think it's his fault!" Tara interrupted and got up.

She stood straight in front of the Slayer who hadn't moved in a bit in her chair and clenched her fists along her body.

"I have to warn you, I won't let anyone…."

"Misses?"

The receptionnist's voice interrupted them and both girls turned to the young man who had come to them.

"what?" Faith asked.

"I think there're people looking for you…"

Both girls turned round to the hall entrance he was pointing out. Behind the door, they could see several figures were waiting.

"Great" Faith grumbled. "I was missing them SO hard…"

She got up and gestured to Tara and Leo to follow.

"Let's see what they want"

But Tara didn't move in a bit. And Leo didn't either. He had put back in magazine on the coffee table and was looking at each of them with a glimmer of fear in his eyes.

"Okay" Faith said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going. You just stay here"

Faith headed quickly to the motel door and got out. Outside, a group of men were waiting for her. She recognized Peter and men present when they had introduced Leo. And they didn't look happy.

"Yeah?"

"We heard what happened. The house burnt again" Peter explained.

"And?"

"We warned you. It's not the first time. The kid is responsible for this" Another man said in a more aggressive tone.

"What are you going to do?" Peter asked.

"You wanted a proof." Another said. "You've got one"

"You said you would do something"

Faith openly sniggered.

"A proof?" she mocked.

"The kid is responsible for the fire" repeated one of the men.

"If you don't want to do anything, just give him back!" Exclaimed one of them, stepping forward and obviously exasperated by the Slayer's mocking tone.

"He's not responsible for the fire" Faith calmly replied.

"How do you know?" grumbled her interlocutor.

"I know it"

"You're protecting him!" Yelled another one, stepping forward too. "That kid's dangerous!"

"Why that? 'Cause he knows more things than you?"

Faith turned round and saw Tara coming outside in her turn. The witch was standing behind the Slayer and was looking defiantly at the group of men.

"What does she want?" the man said, looking angrily at Tara.

Faith rolled her eyes and leant against the doorframe.

"I have to warn you, she's kinda stubborn…"

"He's not a demon. He's not responsible for the fire."

"That's what you're telling! You don't know!"

"Oh, I do. I know. The fire started in my room"

The man's mouth closed for a second but he resumed almost immediately.

"It's not important. If you don't believe us, just give him back"

"No"

Tara's reply was firm, unequivocal.

"You won't have him"

The most aggressive man of the group loudly sniggered and turned to the others.

"Guys, you're hearing that? What is she thinking she can do?"

He turned back to her and his face was hard.

"Believe me bird, you won't prevent me to get the kid back. If you don't want to be the ones to teach him how life works, I will"

"Just like you already do?" Tara shot back in a harsh tone, which made Faith arch an eyebrow.

The man sniggered again and he became almost threatening.

"What do you think? You think you know 'cause you had him for two days? I know how that kid works. And you don't know anything"

"Oh, I know enough!"

"I want Leo back!" The man yelled and stepped closer to Tara.

"No" Tara repeated still firmly. "No"

"I, I'm gonna…" the other fumed.

But he was interrupted by a new voice.

"Mr. Irvin? Miss Maclay?"

Tara and the man turned around at the same time and saw a forty years-old blonde woman looking at them. Two men were with her.

"Are you Tara Maclay?" the woman repeated.

Tara frowned and turned to her.

"Y-yes. And you are?"

"Emily Warren. Social services from Buffalo"

"Social services?" the man talking previously to Tara repeated. "What are social services doing here?"

"We're here to come and get Leo Irvin" the woman really calmly replied. "Miss Maclay informed us about possible abuses"

"What?"

The man turned alternately between Emily Warrant and Tara before looking intently at her.

"How dare you? Who do you think you are?"

He stepped forward Tara with a threatening look on his face. Fait stood and came between the man and the witch.

"Easy man" she said coldly.

"Are you Vincent Irvin?" Emily Warren asked. "Leo's uncle?"

"Yeah himself" he abruptly replied.

"We're going to take Leo with us. I want to see the boy"

"Take him? You have no right"

"What I've just witnessed is more than enough to take that child away while our services check if Miss Maclay's statements are the truth."

"You won't take him away" grumbled Vincent Irvin. "You don't know anything about him"

"I advise you not to make our case worse Mr. Irvin" Emily Warren warned. "Where's the child?" she asked, turning to Tara.

"Follow me" the blonde said and she opened the motel door.

When the two women and the two men from the social services had disappeared in the motel, Faith stood between the door and the villagers.

"See?" She said, sneering. "You wanted us to get rid off him. We're doing it"

* * *

Tara hugged Leo one last time, quickly stoked his hair then got up.

"Good luck" she whispered as she released the boy.

Leo returned the hug and turned to Faith. She held out her hand and the kid topped it happily.

"Good luck kid"

"Good bye"

Then Emily Warren had him getting in the car. The door closed. Leo gestured to the girls and the car got away and disappeared.

They both remained still for a second looking where the car had gone then turned round to go to their own.

"So, you knew he wasn't a demon?" Tara eventually asked after a silence. "That he just was a gifted child?"

Faith shrugged.

"I'm a Slayer. Demons are my job" she said. "And you know… my mom used to tell I was a demon." She added after a hush. "But I wasn't one"

"Well, not exactly!" she mocked.

Tara couldn't help but sketch a smile to that.

"For the gifted thing, I had no idea, was your thing"

"You should have said you knew" said Tara a little later.

"Why that? You were so sure. You didn't need me"

Tara seemed to waver about what to tell next.

"I think it's my fault if there's been a fire" she quickly declared. "I –I wanted to do the spell. The demons spell. To convince you"

Faith started to laugh.

"I suspected it was you! It was coming from your bedroom!"

"I thought you didn't remember that spell?" she added just after.

"Well, I know that spell for like… ever." Tara whispered. "I don't think I can forget it. Ever. And I found at the village everything I needed to perform it. I think I fell asleep without putting the candles out and…"

She fell silent, obviously ashamed.

"It's something that never happened to me. Before."

Faith shrugged.

"Don't worry Blondie. No one died. That's what is important. And you saved that kid. That's what is important too."

Faith fell silent again as they got to the car. She unlocked the doors, threw the car in the back and got in the car in the same time as Tara.

"And, we ate free for three days. That's important too." She concluded as she switched the engine on.

* * *

_End of 'Rescuers'_

_To be continued in 'Alone in the dark' _


End file.
